Section: News & Summaries

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said a decision on extending a global pact to cut oil production had not yet been taken, but would be discussed with OPEC on May 24, according to Reuters. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other leading oil producers have pledged to curb output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd),...

Russian popular singer of Ukrainian origin Lolita Milyavskaya, 53, has been refused entry into Ukraine in the next three years because of her earlier visit to occupied Crimea. ”I`m in [the Ukrainian town of] Konotop. They`ve made me get off the train. I cannot visit my child who is ill, as I`m banned from entering Ukraine. Therefore I`m...

The centrist Emmanuel Macron will face far-right leader Marine Le Pen in a run-off for the French presidency on May 7, multiple projections indicate, according to the BBC. Macron leads with 23.7% in first round voting while Ms Le Pen won 21.7%, an Ipsos/Sopra Steria poll suggests, the BBC said. Opinion polls in the run-up to the ballot...

Serhiy Tihipko is considered one of the main candidates for the post of the Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, ZN.UA reports citing its source. Mr Tihipko has been rather close to President Poroshenko lately and deeply informed about the latter`s commercial activities, according to ZN.UA. The publication says Serhiy Tihipko left the post...

Ukraine`s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) says that a recent incident when an OSCE monitors` armored car was blown up in occupied Donbas is a confirmation of the Kremlin`s attempts to intimidate the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine. ”We consider the serious incident, which occurred inside territory controlled and supported by...

The member of European OSCE`s monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine who was killed after their vehicle drove over a mine near Luhansk on Sunday morning was an American citizen, according to Reuters. An American man was killed and a German woman was injured on Sunday morning, a spokesman for Austria`s foreign ministry said, Reuters reported. See...

A vehicle of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine was reported to have been damaged in an anti-tank blast in Donbas on Sunday morning, according to the press center of the Ukrainian Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) headquarters. ”The Ukrainian members of the JCCC [Joint Centre for Control and Coordination] have reported that a car...

More NATO fighter jets are being scrambled to monitor and intercept Russian planes than at any time since the end of the Cold War as tensions continue to rise, according to The Independent. Around 780 deployments were made from European military bases last year in response to Russian aircraft, compared to just 410 in 2015, The Independent...

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Ambassador Tina Kaidanow will travel to Germany, Estonia, and Ukraine April 23-29 for discussions on a variety of international security issues, the U.S. Department of State said in a press release. ”Ambassador Kaidanow will consult with U.S. government officials from...

Russia intends to use viral online videos to convey their version of ”truth” to the world, said Russia Today chief Margarita Simonyan at a meeting of the Victory organizing committee chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kremlin. You can read Russian transcript of full meeting on the official webiste of Russian President. ”We would like...